SPECULATIONS CONTINUE OVER OFFICIAL’S DEATH

[Anchor Lead]

The South Korean military has disclosed information showing that North Koreans tried at first to rescue the drifting South Korean official. As the military came under fire for its late response, a high-ranking Defense Ministry official disclosed the results of an analysis of classified information. But questions remain.

[Pkg]

The South Korean military confirmed the official's discovery by the North Koreans on September 22, at 4 p.m. one day after he went missing. Five hours later the official was shot dead by North Korean soldiers. As criticism over late response flared up, a senior official from the Defense Ministry said there were signs of the North Koreans trying to rescue the drifting official for quite a long time, but the situation suddenly took an unexpected turn, resulting in the delayed response. This means Seoul expected the North to repatriate the official later, because there were signs of rescue efforts. However, it's still unclear why the official was killed after the initial attempt to save his life. In the regime's letter to the South on September 25, it was stated, the captain of the patrol ship decided to shoot the intruder. This means the order to kill the South Korean national may have been issued by a senior North Korean official. The South Korean military's response remains dubious as well. It did not proactively reveal the situation about the missing official via radio communication, even after seeing the signs of rescue by the North Koreans. Although the military communication channel between the two Koreas has been shut off by the North for four months, radio communication among all vessels from both sides remains open.

[Soundbite] (FISHERMAN FROM DAECHEONGDO ISLAND) : "On VHF channel 16 you can often hear North Korea blaming South Korean fishing boats of crossing into its territorial waters and demanding the South take responsibility. (Have you heard that again since June?) Yes, a lot."

Speculations that the official's body was burned and that he wanted to defect to the North also remain due to differences in the reports made by the two sides. A senior Defense Ministry official vowed to look into the obtained information from an objective standpoint of a third party. Meanwhile, Pyongyang has still not responded to Seoul's request to conduct a joint investigation into the matter and restore the military communication channel.